Dallaglio: We must be ferocious again

Chris Jones|Evening Standard|In Auckland

13 April 2012

Lawrence Dallaglio today called on his beaten England players to take a long hard look in the mirror and rediscover the "ferocity and emotion" needed to win back respect eroded by the 36-3 First Test hammering by the All Blacks in Dunedin.

England have less than a week to turn things around before taking on the All Blacks in Saturday's Second Test here in Auckland and it is expected that up to a third of the team will be changed by head coach Clive Woodward.

Captain Dallaglio said: "The majority of what needs to be put right is inside people's heads and every player, including myself, has to take a long hard look in the mirror. Mentally, individuals weren't ready for what was coming in the First Test and there are no excuses for it happening again.

"Clearly, the ferocity and emotion in the one-on-one confrontations were missing and that was the most disappointing aspect of the defeat. It's not my job to find that for players; either you have it or you don't.

"We have all lost Test matches before but what would be disappointing is if New Zealand did not face an England side playing its best rugby.

"I cannot accept England not making the opposition fight for every yard of ground. I want to make sure that whatever the score in Saturday's Test, England-have some respect." Dallagliois backing changes in the team and Woodward is working out who will pay the price for letting England down. The changes could include hooker Steve Thompson, scrum-half Matt Dawson, flanker Chris Jones and wing James Simpson-Daniel.

Dallaglio added: "Inevitably there will be changes because you cannot lose by that many points and not look at certain positions. We have come down here to be competitive and that's exactly what will happen in the next two Tests.

"I know how hard it was to get England to the top and there were inglorious defeats along the way and let's remember the pain that was suffered before the success came. We became world champions and the only difference is the learning has to be done very quickly. The real strength of a player is how he responds to failure - it will be the true measure of this team.

"If we don't get certain basics right then we will get well beaten here and we must play our game with the passion and emotion that is required at this level.

"Everyone who faces England automatically finds that level because we are the world champions. Our passion has to come from every player and I don't know why it wasn't there in Dunedin."

The double winning London Wasps captain is clearly bemused by the way members of his team failed to perform when he needed their support and England are staring a possible three-Test whitewash in the face with a World Cup final rematch against Australia completing the tour in two weeks.

Dallaglio said: "We need to take something out of the next two Test matches and I am certain that with the pride these England players have we will come out with everything we have got this weekend.

"There is an argument that we have sat back on our laurels with everyone telling us how good we are in the forwards. That may have fired up the All Black pack and certain players in our team could have believed their own write-ups and did not appreciate what was coming. It was more than just a reality check.

"I know we can improve in all areas of the game then we can ask a lot more questions of New Zealand and see how they cope. We need to see some of the strengths of England rugby on display in Auckland; a rock solid defence and the ability to scrap for every bit of possession.

An England defeat at Eden Park - a ground where New Zealand last lost in 1994 - would make it four reversals from seven starts since last November's World Cup final triumph.

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